Pittsburgh-based health insurer Highmark will launch a new health plan, Community Blue, in western Pennsylvania starting Jan. 1, but most University of Pittsburgh Medical Center hospitals and physicians will be considered out-of-network.
The provider network will consist of more than 50 hospitals and 7,600 primary care physicians and specialists. The only UPMC facilities that will be in-network include Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic and a few remote UPMC hospitals, according to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report.
Community Blue may offer consumers discounts up to 25 percent compared with Highmark's plans that have full access to UPMC's resources. Highmark President of Health Services Deborah Rice said in the Post-Gazette report that the new plan is "not about Highmark vs. UPMC." Instead, Highmark is marketing it as one of several new plans that offer higher quality and lower costs for health insurance consumers.
Highmark is still awaiting regulatory approval to acquire Pittsburgh-based West Penn Allegheny Health System, which also is UPMC's main competitor.
The provider network will consist of more than 50 hospitals and 7,600 primary care physicians and specialists. The only UPMC facilities that will be in-network include Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic and a few remote UPMC hospitals, according to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report.
Community Blue may offer consumers discounts up to 25 percent compared with Highmark's plans that have full access to UPMC's resources. Highmark President of Health Services Deborah Rice said in the Post-Gazette report that the new plan is "not about Highmark vs. UPMC." Instead, Highmark is marketing it as one of several new plans that offer higher quality and lower costs for health insurance consumers.
Highmark is still awaiting regulatory approval to acquire Pittsburgh-based West Penn Allegheny Health System, which also is UPMC's main competitor.
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